The first day of waiting on Twitter for a decision from New York Islanders pending unrestricted free agent John Tavares. And the wait isn’t over yet.
After meeting with six teams, including the New York Islanders, John Tavares was going to take some time to decide what he was going to do next. Was he going to skip free agency and stay with the Islanders, or head to free agency and sign with one of the teams he spoke to?
For three days, from June 25th to June 27th, Tavares met with the Maple Leafs, the Islanders, the Sharks, the Bruins, the Stars and the Lightning. In that order.
After all the meetings were over. After all the teams he was going to speak to make their presentations. Tavares and his team were going to take time to think it over.
We believed that Friday might be the day that more information was coming and that some teams might find out if they were in or out. But as Friday, came and went, no decision was made.
The John Tavares camp could start informing a few teams as early as Friday morning that they're no longer in the running... beyond that hard to say when the UFA centre for sure will be ready to pick his team. Obviously if it's the Isles that call is no later than Saturday...
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 28, 2018
The Reaction Through the Day
Friday went as you can imagine when a fan base is faced with a huge decision that could have massive effects on the franchise going forward. They get creative, they search for any clues, and above all, they stress.
Per @Chrishowrad, @TwoTurtleDuffs, and some good detective work, a private jet took off from MacArthur at 11:28 AM and landed in Toronto at 12:28 PM. #isles #TavaresWatch pic.twitter.com/6VJSHzM3SO
— Ethan vs. John Mara (@EthanGSN) June 29, 2018
Colin anything to report on John Tavares and if he will re-sign with the new york islanders pic.twitter.com/aZZyFahZpO
— marl (@MarlWenplotsky) June 29, 2018
So Tavares is really leaving huh? #Islanders pic.twitter.com/v5KReFEAUS
— Matt Heiniger (@HeinigeronSport) June 29, 2018
Throughout the day we craved information. And we got absolutely nothing. Credit to Tavares and agent Pat Brisson for being incredibly tight-lipped about the entire process.
In the age of social media, its easy for anything to slip. But nothing. Throughout the day every single insider was baffled. They had nothing.
So right now we know that six teams are still in the mix. The six that Tavares spoke too. Which means we’re no further ahead than we were 24 hours ago. And it’s maddening.
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It’s an important decision for John Tavares, and he definitely want’s to get it right. But the prospect of waiting around all day and dealing with the constant deluge of chaos that is social media isn’t appealing in the slightest.